With his team down 26-20 midway through the first half of the opening game of the season, Louisville coach Rick Pitino had a message as he gathered his squad during a timeout, relax and go get every loose ball. He could tell his team was playing tight, and unranked visiting Evansville was getting easy baskets.

It worked. Louisville held Evansville to just one made field goal in 17:17 and went on a breath-taking -- and game-clinching -- 35-3 run to fold the Purple Aces, 78-47.

"We played great defense, but we didn't get the loose balls on the ground after playing great defense and they scored off of it like three times," Pitino said. "Then we started getting all the loose balls and we went on like a 35-3 run. That is unheard of with a well-coached team like them."

UofL's run was swift. A layup by junior power forward Jaylen Johnson with 8:30 left in the first half was followed quickly by a jumper from grad transfer guard Tony Hicks, then a steal and 1-2 free throws by sophomore guard Donovan Mitchell. A jumper by Mitchell gave Louisville a 27-26 lead with 6:32 left before halftime, and Louisville never trailed again.

"He just wanted to calm our nerves down," freshman forward V.J. King said. "He told us to get loose, and as the game went on we started to get into our rhythm. We got into our rhythm on defense and offense and started to pull away."

The Cardinals clamped down on defense in the final 9:05 of the first half, forcing six turnovers and allowing just a lone free throw from senior guard Jaylon Brown. Meanwhile Louisville hit 6 of 9 shots during a seven-minute span to build a 13-point lead by the two-minute mark.

"That's what good teams do. We made some mistakes, but we certainly needed to execute better than the last 30, 31 minutes, but give them credit," Evansville coach Marty Simmons said. "That's what competitive players and teams do, when you get behind you change your pace. You try harder, you fight harder, you execute harder and that's what they did and we didn't handle it. We talked about it. ... We were prepared for the different defenses that they play. The different pressure that they apply and we can't emulate that in our practices, but we talked about it. We showed it on tape, the switching, and we just didn't handle it. Handle it at all."

The Purple Aces folded under Louisville's full-court pressure and stout man-to-man defense.

"Coach P. tells us that if we are tired then they are exhausted," Johnson said. "We take it upon ourselves to work hard, and we put so much work in during the summer. We came into the season in great shape, and we have been working hard every day."

Louisville's run continued in the second half. A jumper by Evansville's junior guard Duane Gibson with 19:02 remaining was the Purple Aces' first field goal since the 9:05 mark of the first half. Louisville held Evansville to just one made field goal in a span of 17:17, from 9:05 in the first half until the clock read 11:55 in the second half. During the 17:17 Louisville run, Evansville missed 24 shots and turned the ball over eight times.

"This was a great beginning," Pitino said. "We worked on Evansville quite a bit this summer so our guys were very prepared."

After starting the game by hitting 10 of its first 20 shots in the first 11 minutes of the game, Evansville made just six field goals the rest of the game, shooting 16 for 57, a paltry 28.1 percent. The Purple Aces were also out-rebounded 52-29.

"We'll have to go back and watch it, but, I mean, the first part of the game, we were able to do some decent things, I thought, to get up, but our expectations are higher," Simmons said. "We're pretty disappointed, just to be out scored 58 to 21 in the last 30 minutes is not good."

Louisville's lead ballooned to 30 points at 65-35 with 7:36 left on a tip-in by senior center Mangok Mathiang. The Cardinals closed out the 78-47 win with the help of 19 points and 14 rebounds from Jaylen Johnson and 15 points from Donovan Mitchell. Evansville's Jaylon Brown had 19 points.

"Really proud of Jaylen," Pitino said. "Today he was an animal rebounding the basketball and that started in walk-through. He is getting what he deserves. He worked so hard on his game this summer and he worked so hard on his body. He had 19 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and he really did a great job. I am so proud of him. Sometimes you get what you deserve and he got what he deserved tonight."

It was Johnson's first career double-double.

"I'm just thankful to be able to produce as part of this great team and playing for a great coach," Johnson said. "We never really know who is going to have a great night. ... I expect a lot of guys to have nights like this."

Louisville has just 72 hours to prepare for a Monday night game vs. William & Mary. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Evansville will host the Alcorn State Braves Monday night at 9 p.m.

NOTES: Junior Jaylen Johnson had 19 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in 24 minutes. ... Friday was the first game back since last November for senior center Mangok Mathiang. He had been sitting out with a broken foot. ... Friday night marked Louisville's 100th victory in the KFC Yum! Center, the riverfront arena which was opened in 2010. The Cardinals are 100-14 at home in the KFC Yum! Center. ... Louisville has won 22 of its last 24 opening games, including its last 13 straight.